An Egyptian pilot was banned for life after allowing actor and singer Mohamed Ramadan to sit in the cockpit. Mohamed Ramadan bragged about the incident and shared a video to his 10 million online followers sitting in the pilot’s seat.
As a result, Egypt’s civil aviation authority revoked the pilot’s license and banned him for life. The decision stirred controversy, between some who backed the decision, and some who felt that the ban was so harsh.
Former Civil Aviation Minister Hussein Massoud told Daily News Egypt that violations against the Egyptian civil aviation law and reckless and irresponsible actions should be firmly punished. Massoud said that International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) monitors Egyptian civil aviation authority to see how did it handle the incident. “Because the pilot is responsible for many lives and we should abide by ICAO regulations. So, these measures taken are based on Egyptian aviation laws which stipulate that passengers are not allowed to enter the cockpit while a flight is in operation,” he added,
Mohamed Ramadan claimed that the pilot demanded EGP 9.5 million in compensations. However the pilot refuted Ramadan’s claim, and said he did not contact the Egyptian rapper and actor.
However, the pilot started posting videos accusing Ramadan of ending his distinguished career and demanding compensation. He said that Ramadan asked him to take a picture for his son, but he was surprised when the actor posted the video on social media. The pilot claimed that in private jets nothing separates the cockpit and the rest of the plane.
During a televised interview on the state television, Ramadan said that the pilot filed a lawsuit at Cairo Economic Court demanding EGP 25m compensation. However, Ramadan said that he is willing to pay the pilot his monthly salary for life as a compensation.
Many Egyptian social media users responded angrily to the Ramadan’s video, with calls for the actor to be boycotted.
